Writer Spotlight: Shannon Dittemore

Shannon’s stories often feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. In many ways, she says, she’s writing her own life story. 

If you’re not already following Shannon on Instagram or Facebook, you’re really missing out! She has an incredible eye for natural beauty and her posts are both witty and encouraging. We initially met through a fellow writer shortly after her debut book Angel Eyes released in 2012. After swapping messages back and forth, a friendship was born that has brought me a lot of joy and encouragement.

A year after her debut book hit the shelves, Shanon began teaching mentoring tracks at a local school, where she continues to provide junior high and high school students with an introduction to writing and the publishing industry. She’s also a fantastic teen-track leader at writing conferences (Seriously, we adults attendees are jealous that we don’t get to attend those teen sessions!), and she writes a weekly blog for Go Teen Writers, which has been recognized by Writer’s Digest three years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.

Back in March, Shannon was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on writing with my newsletter readers. My original plan had been to share those thoughts here on my blog the following week, but then news hit that COVID-19 was far more of a threat to the global population than originally thought. With everything that changed in those following weeks, my blogging was temporarily set aside.

Six months later, Shannon’s new YA fantasy Winter, White and Wicked, is about to debut. And that’s not the only book she’s releasing this year! She and her fellow Go Teen Writers mentors, Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson, recently announced the release of Go Teen Writers: Write your Novel. But you don’t have to be a teen to appreciate their insight into the writing process!

In Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel, Shannon and her fellow mentors show us that:

• There is no such thing as one right way to write a novel.
• How to take an idea and give it a beginning, middle, and end.
• What story structure means and how it strengthens a book.
• Different approaches to plotting a novel.
• How to develop characters worth reading about.
• Strategies for creating memorable storyworlds and settings.
• What theme is and how to use it to enrich your story.
• What to do when your first draft is finished.

Since I’m always looking for additional tips and ways to help improve my writing and offer helpful resources to the writers I work with, I’m incredibly excited to add this book to my shelves on December 3, 2020.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the book and how to pre-order, visit: https://goteenwriters.com/WriteYourNovel/

From dream to reality, and back again

Was there a person or an event that prodded you to consider pursing writing as a calling/vocation?

SD: It was out of a moment of frustration, really. I was a young mother with a newborn and a toddler. To help ends meet, I had a bookkeeping job I could do from home. I hated it. And I was creatively frustrated. I missed theatre, but found I was unwilling to give up nights with my young family for rehearsals or shows, and so on a stormy November night, walking the floor with a three month old who never slept, I found myself saying out loud, “I wish I could tell stories from home.” And then it dawned on me that I could do just that.  

What is the most surprising twist your writing journey has taken you on so far?

SD: There’s this idea that once you sign your first contract, that’s it, you’re in! You’ve found a publisher and now you get to write stories with them forever. But the industry changes and publishers get bought out; the marketing support you hoped for gets lost in the shuffle, and then sales aren’t what they should be. And like that, you’re on the outside looking in once more.

Your needs don’t really factor in. It’s just business and sometimes that feels brutally unfair. So when I realized my first publisher was moving in a different direction, I had to reevaluate: Do I really want to be an author? And if so, what kind of author do I want to be?

It’s a question I think we should all ask ourselves constantly. It’s healthy to take stock time and again, and even though this initial evaluation was not something I went into willingly, it was helpful and framed the next several years for me.

What’s been the hardest set back you’ve faced as a writer? How did you move past it?

SD: Probably just dealing with the repercussions of my publisher moving in a different direction. After a talk with my agent, we decided I should move away from Christian publishing and over to the general market where there were more opportunities for young adult fiction. If things had been different, I might have enjoyed writing weird YA for the Christian market forever, but God had another plan and, after a little pause in my career, I’ve landed with an editor I adore at a publishing house I’m really enjoying. I have no idea what the future holds, but they’re the ideal partner for my upcoming release, and I’m so grateful they see value in my work.

How do you refresh yourself as a writer when you’re feeling like the creative well has gone dry?

SD: I go outside! I need adventure like I need air. It’s a constant pull for me, the outdoors, and I’ve learned how valuable those days are, so I don’t fight it when I’m soul weary. I’ll load the family up and we’ll drive until we find a trail or a beach or a forest. And when the day is done, my head and heart will be full of different things. Things that help shape what I put on the page. 

I also find that enjoying any kind of truly creative endeavor fills me back up. I love walking through galleries or taking in a show. There’s something inspiring about watching others live out their passion. It’s contagious.

Is there a piece of insight or advice you’d like to share about writing? 

SD: It’s funny you should ask. I woke up early today, Saturday, with an urge to write. I don’t usually write on the weekends, but I’ve been doing this thing long enough that I don’t resist the urge to write if I can help it. Respect the urge to write. It’s a bit of advice I read so long ago I can’t remember who said it, but I embrace it fully! Writing as a discipline is what gets us to the end of a story, but writing because we truly want to keeps us fresh and excited about our work. We need that more than we realize. 

Shannon’s books include the Angel Eyes novels, and the forthcoming Winter, White and Wicked, to be released by Abrams Books on October 13, 2020.

For more information about Shannon and her writing visit shannondittemore.com.